A Muzzle Brake for the Pros

6 Apr 2010

Military.com editor Ward Carroll and I are down in West Point, VA, for three days of training at a place called International Training Inc.Don't be fooled by the innocuous name of the place -- one of the company bigwigs described a recent training evolution where a group of operators from "an agency" parachuted in, drove inflatables into a range area and conducted a sniper-initiated assault of one of ITI's shoot houses. Hard core.

We spent an entire day of weapons training with the M9 and M4. Our instructor, Brandon Wright, is a successful competitive shooter and was using a tricked-out M4 with some pretty sweet accessories. One of his favorites is the Surefire MB556K muzzle brake.

The break brake steadies the rifle so that when you're firing rapidly in semi-auto, that muzzle barely moves. As Wright explains, the break forces the gasses out to the sides, instead of up and down, making it easier to control the shot. I suck, and I shot with it, and I could tell a difference.

The one thing I will say is that the muzzle break brake sure makes the rifle seem louder, especially when you're sitting next to it when it's firing.

But that's a small price to pay when the MB556K puts you "on like Donkey Kong"...which is certainly does.